The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-07
DRIVEN TO DESPERATION.
A Miserable Young Wife Makes an At
tempt to Drown Herself in the River.
While in the Act Of Leaping from the Bridge
She Is Caught and Saved from Death
Her Sad and Pathetic Story.

fog hung over White rive: yesterday at
noon. and the rain was slowly falling, when Mrs.
Belle Gorham, the wife of Delaney Gorham of
No. 10 Elder avenue, entered the Washington
street bridge over the river. street car en-
route to the Insane Asylum passed her at tho
threshold of the bridge, and went rafting on to-
ward the city Of the lost-minded. The bridge
was then clear, with the exception of three or
four persons near the east end. When she had
reached the center pier she stopped and looked
behind her, as If to see il she was followed. She
was not, and not noticing the group of persons
at the east end, who had been watching
her strange movements, she began climbing
upon the railing as if preparing to jump, but her
courage apparently failed her, and she sank
back, and walked across to the other side OF the
bridge, and stood looking for few minutes into
the stream. Suddenly she began to remove her
hat and shawl, as if preparing to make the fatal
leap These movements were noticed by j. b.
Raney, Waterman for The Vandalia rail-
road, standing near the engine house of
Merritts WOODEN mill. He started toward
her, and at the same time the other
men who had been watching her movements
coming, and hastily hanging her hat and shawl
on a cross-beam in the center OF the bridge, ran
for the railing, upon which she had climbed
when Mr.. Raney, who had outrun the other
men, caught her. second more and she would
have been. beyond his reach. When he pulled
her back she asked to be released and permit
ted to carry out the act she had begun. large
crowd had gathered by this time. and in order
to get the young woman away from there Mr..
Raney called carriage and took her to the po-
lice station.
When she reached the station she wascryings
and seemed entirely exhausted. AS she was
getting out of the carriage she tainted and was
caught by Captain Campbell and carried inside,
where she recovered To Journal re-
porter she told pitiful story She is only
eighteen years of age. Her intelligence sur
prlsing, and she possessed an air of refinement
that stamped her as young lady who had re-
celved careful home training. please don't say
| anything in the papers about my foolish act, !"
were her first words to the reporter. Il don't
care for the people here, but all those who know
me in Greencastie will read it, and they will
point to me with scorn whenever they see me.
| l don't know what made me attempt such q
| foolish thing and now please don't say anything
about it." AS she talked the tears rolled down
| her cheeks.
TODD people. 1t was their desire to give her a
| good education, and she was always kept in
school. She had completed all but the last year
| in the Greencastle hlgh-school last June. The
| Gorham family formerly lived in Gree ncastla,
but moved to this city early last spring. From
the time she was small girl she had been In love
with Delaney Gorham, and after his family
moved to this city she wanted to come here too
Last fall she persuaded her parents to let her at
tend the high-school here They consented, and
| she started to school, and began boarding with
| an aunt in the northern part of
| the city. She found after she had
1 ~ - 49, 80 III 4 49,
old to her. and she decided to remain out of
school for the first year, and earn some money as
| nurse She secured position over in Haugh-
vile, and held 1T until OF the End of last Deem
| Der. when she was married to young Gorham with
] out the knowledge or consent of her parents A
| little house was rented over in Haughville. and
they began life in it. She knew nothing about
| the duties of housekeeping. She could not even
cook meal, and her husband. being unable to
keep a servant was greatly disappointed. He
| soon began to grumbe, aud her mother-in -law,
who paid them frequent visits. often spoke harsh
| ~ to her. She found it impossible to give up
sit down to read Whenever she did this both
| her husband and mother-in-law abused her.
| On Jan. 2 her husband who is employed in the
Haughville iron works, claimed he had received
letter from her father stating that her mot Their
was very SICK and wanted her to COME home
Immediately. He said he would buy her a
round-trip ticket. but instead, he only pur-
chased ticket for one way. When she reached
IL,
that nc such letter had ever been sent Her
parents forgave her for her marriage, and asked
her to never return to her husband The second
day she was at home she re-
ceived her trunk, and a letter from
her husband telling her that she need
| not return to him. Against the advice of her
parents she did come back on the 18th Of Janu
| airy. She found that her husband had moved in
with his parents, and there she went also. She
says the treatment she has since received has
made life unbearable and, yesterday morning,
when abe arose. she told her husband she was
going to drown herself in the river. He told her
to 'Go and do it and besd-d."
The police officers we're at loss to know what
to do with her. She begged not to be taken back
to the Gorham home and also refused to go to
her aunt's in the northern part of the city, to
her parents at Greencastle. She said If she could
get place to work she would take it, and
never again face any of her relatives
She was finally persuaded to go TO the Home
for the Frierdless. where she was taken by
Turnkey Taffe After she had been taken to the
Home her husband came to the station in the
hunt of her. but the police refused to tell him
where he wonld find her, and ntiinated that il
he did not leave Immediately he would be locked
up for his cruelty to her.
This Weeks Amusements,
Both the Grand and English's will be CLOSED